How a Gratitude Journal Can Elevate Your Life

When was the last time you remember feeling grateful? If you can’t answer this easily, you may be missing out on a simple way to elevate your overall well-being.

Researchers are discovering that gratitude is a powerful emotion. When you focus on being grateful, you are more content, have a happier outlook on life and experience a reduction in stress – things we all could benefit from! With positive results like those, why wouldn’t you try adding a little gratitude to your life?

At LIF, we like getting into a state of gratitude through journaling. Try it for yourself by following these quick tips to help you get started.

1. Set aside a few minutes in the morning or evening (or both) to journal. If you choose the morning you are starting your day with positive thinking. If you journal in the evening, you’ll spend your day on the lookout for items you can jot down later. Either way, your day will be filled with more gratitude.

2. Keep your list small when you start out. Keeping it under 10 things will keep your journal time to a minimum while still getting all of the positive outcomes. If your gratitude journal becomes a time consuming task that takes away from your day, you may start to dread it and eventually drop the habit.

3. Don’t limit your thoughts to big items. Your good health, loving family, and material positions are all things to be thankful for, but there can be unexpected beauty in the small things. Keep your eye out for these little moments of gratitude. On those days where everything seems to be going south, you’ll be able to focus on positive details that would have otherwise gone unnoticed.

As you begin, we would love to hear from you. Let us know if you too are experiencing more happiness through gratitude journaling. Better yet, share with us what you are grateful for by commenting below or tagging us on social media!